


Old Grudges Die Hard

by LI0NH34RT



Series: Thiam Prompts [28]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Family Parties, Liam holds grudges, M/M, Thiam, for a long time, it's bound to be a disaster, like really long
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-12
Updated: 2018-09-12
Packaged: 2019-07-11 13:20:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15973130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LI0NH34RT/pseuds/LI0NH34RT
Summary: Liam and Theo’s mothers have been trying to set them up for years now but all Liam can remember about Theo is the one time he stuck gum in his hair, which Liam still holds a grudge about. So when a family gathering is going to bring him face to face with Theo again, he’s pretty pissed. Until the most attractive guy he’s ever seen steps into the garden and Oh that’s Theo? Who needs grudges anyway.





	Old Grudges Die Hard

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SeaxWitch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SeaxWitch/gifts).



> For Colby, because she wanted it. ♡

   
“No way.”   
“Liam, that wasn’t a question.”   
“No mom. Please don’t make me do that.”   
But Jenna wasn’t letting up. “Liam Eugene Dunbar, we are all going, and that’s the end of it.”   
   
~♤~   
   
And because Jenna Geyer always gets what she wants Liam is now in the backseat of the car, next to a whole mountain of food and behind his mother and David, who drives all of them to the house of Jenna’s best friend, Anna Raeken. Both women declared that they haven’t seen each other and the families in ages and so they organized a barbeque for everyone to come together and catch up again.   
Normally Liam would be all over it, stoked by the idea of food and the opportunity to maybe sneak one or two beers past his mother who had a strict ‘No drinking under 21' rule for Liam.   
But this is the Raeken's house. As in Theo Raeken. As in the boy who was mean to him until they finally went to different schools after elementary. The Theo who stuck gum in his hair and smeared it so badly that Jenna had to cut off all his golden locks he had been so proud of.   
Even Mason had snorted at his buzz cut the next day.   
And also the boy his mom and Anna had tried to set him up with for years. Unsuccessfully, Liam might add.   
   
This afternoon wouldn’t exactly be what Liam calls fun and so a small pout stays on his lips the whole way, and doesn’t vanish even when David tries to cheer him up with the whispered promise of a sip from his whiskey later. He would need a whole bottle of whiskey if he had to put up with Theo Raeken for a whole afternoon...   
   
The greeting by Anna and her husband Jonathan is enthusiastic, to say the least. Both women hug each other as if they hadn’t talked two days prior and David and Jonathan immediately start talking about the Geyer's new car.   
Liam just stands behind them in the entry way, arms laden with the food Jenna made as a thank you for the invitation, and wishes himself home in front of his PlayStation and a cool glass of lemonade to top the dream off.   
“And there is Liam! My god, you have gotten so big! And handsome too!”   
(Anna had seen him about five month ago. And no, Liam did not grow since then.)   
But she already continued: “Why don’t you go back outside, Tara and Theo are in the garden, they will help you get the food handled.”   
   
A last searching glance towards his mother – nope, Jenna still hadn’t changed her mind and would let him go home – and Liam was off towards his impending doom.   
He steps out of the patio doors and onto the soft grass covering the whole garden (safe for the pool. How mad would his mother be if he just tried to drown himself?) as his eyes find the two siblings standing next to the large stone grill at the right side of the area.   
   
Tara leans against the patio balustrade, her black hair is put up in a messy bun and she laughs at a comment her brother made.   
Theo has his back towards Liam, as he is busy grilling the meat for their feast.   
   
“Hello!”, Tara has spotted him, now it’s too late for his grand plan of drowning before anybody notices, “Liam right?” she pushes herself of and steps closer.   
“The food is supposed to be in the kitchen, control-mom’s order”, she smiles, “come on, I will help you.”   
And so Liam follows her back into the house.   
   
“We haven’t seen each other for ages!”, Tara exclaims as she helps him to unpack his arms from all the boxes, “how old are you now?”   
“Seventeen”, Liam answers, his focus shifting from Tara to the plate of mini sausages wrapped in bacon he just put on the counter.   
“Right, just like Theo, I still remember how you did everything together as kids. Until you found other friends at the new school...”   
_Excuse me? Did everything together? Friends? What world does this girl live in?_   
   
But before he could voice his thoughts out loud, Tara already pushes the sausages back into his hands.   
“Here, get these out to Theo. We need them grilled with the other meat.”   
   
Barely suppressing a childish grimace Liam turns around again.   
He steps out of the patio door again, the adults still busy catching up in the entry way, and walks towards the grill, Theo still has his back to the garden, not looking up when he hears the door.   
“Here, Tara said you should put these on the grill too.”   
Theo turns around and Liam is glad that he doesn’t let go of the plate in his hands.   
_What the hell? Who is this gorgeous man and what had he done to the gum smearing rascal Theo?_   
   
The Greek god in front of him smiles, showing white teeth and unbelievably green eyes.   
“Thank you, Liam.” Then he extends his hand and Liam is hypnotized by the play of impressive biceps muscle under tan skin.   
“Liam?”   
“Huh?” _The plate, idiot, he wants the plate!_   
“Oh yeah, right. Here.” He practically pushes the sausages at Theo before once again turning on his heels and runs of.   
Passing the others in the living room (a progress from entry way) he mumbles a quick ‘bathroom' on his way to the hall where he opens a random door, and disappears inside.

  
It is not a bathroom.   
   
Thankfully it isn’t a bedroom either. But a broom closet could be hard to explain too.   
_Maybe I will just never come out of here again. Like never._

  
Liam slides down until he sits on the ground, his back leaning at the door. His mind is racing. Since when did Theo get so hot? And why did nobody warn him?   
His mother is a traitor, letting him run into this situation without preparation!   
Now he is regretting that his answer every time Jenna and Anna tried to convince him of a date with Theo had always been a firm ‘No!’ or even a bordering-on-hysterical laughing fit.   
   
Before he can panic any more, a knock on the wooden door behind him rips Liam out of his thoughts.   
“Liam? Are you okay in there? You know that our guest bathroom is in the next room right?”   
Theo. Out of all the people that could have looked after him it’s Theo.

  
_Fuck my life._

  
“Yes”, even Liam himself can hear how defeated his voice sounds, “I am alright. Thank you.”   
For a moment Theo stays silent, then: “And... are you coming out of there?”   
   
 _No_. Instead of saying it out loud the last bit of reason inside Liam brings him to stand up and open the door again.   
Theo is leaning onto the wall across the hallway, his arms crossed and a rather amused smirk on the lips. “I hope you didn’t pee into mom's buckets.”   
   
Liam can feel his face growing red. “Of course not! I didn’t even need to go!”   
“Then why else are you hiding in our closet?”

  
_Because you are gorgeous and I really want to stay mad at you, but I can’t if you look like this and are so nice to me._   
“Because... you are-“ thankfully there sounds another voice through the house before something Liam will surely regret right after saying can slip out.   
“Boys! Where are you? The food is ready!”   
   
“Oh would you look at that? The food is ready. Let’s go.” Liam brushes past Theo, already on his way to the safe space of the garden where are other human beings.   
Then he feels a hand on his arm.   
“Liam, wait. What did you want to say? Is this my fault? Did I fuck this up already?”

  
_Huh? Theo, fucking this up?_   
Liam deflates in Theo’s grip, “No! I mean... yes? I don’t know? Kind of?”   
Theo lets go of his arm as if he burned himself.   
“Fuck, I am sorry. I don’t know what I am doing. Somehow I always say or do the wrong things. I have always done that.”   
He runs his hands through his already messy, dark hair before looking at Liam again, his green eyes now darker, like sea glass.   
“Always?”, Liam asks curiously.   
   
“Do you know, how they say when boys like girls they pull their hair or push them from the swings? Turns out boys who want to be friends with other boys do the same...”   
“The bubble gum...”, Liam whispers.   
Theo offers a shy smile, nodding.   
“Yes. I know that was the reason you didn’t want to have anything to do with me anymore, that I just overdid it on that day. And when my brain finally came to the conclusion that making everybody laugh at the guy you want to be friends with is maybe a bad idea to get his attention, it was already too late.”   
   
He looks so openly sad in this moment, so defeated over something that happened such a long time ago, that Liam can’t stop himself from stepping forward and closing his arms around the boy.   
   
For a moment Theo goes rigid, unsure about how to react, but then Liam can feel him melting into the embrace.   
“You know”, the blond whispers against Theo’s neck, “my hair grew back eventually, it always grows very fast...” and he can feel Theo’s laugh.   
   
~♤~   
   
They go back outside eventually, both of them hungry after this heart-to-heart and eager to enjoy the summer day.   
The more Liam gets to know Theo, as they talk over sausages and hamburgers, the more he wishes his nine year old self wouldn’t have been so easily offended – Theo and he could have been friends forever!

  
And even if he forgave the boy half an hour ago, there is a small voice in his head asking if friends is really what he wants to be.

  
   
Meanwhile Theo watches Liam tell a story about Mason around his mouthful of steak, arms flying as he gesticulates, eyes a light, nearly unreal blue in the sunlight and he desperately wishes he hadn’t been such an idiotic kid.   
   
Later, most of the food is gone, Tara has excused herself to meet up with some friends (even through Theo knows exactly that one of those friends is definitely more than friendly to his sister) and the adults are sitting under the patio, candles lit around them, quietly talking, Theo and Liam slowly stroll around the garden.   
After a while they reach the old tree house Jonathan has built for the siblings and a silent exchange of looks later they climb up the old ladder.   
Inside, the house is cosy, a few blankets and cushions lie around on the wooden floor and Theo plugs in a string of fairy lights, bathing the room in a warm yellow glow.   
Both boys sit down and lean back into to soft pillows, Liam’s gaze is on the star-like light bulbs as he says: “I completely forgot how beautiful this is.”   
“Yes”, Theo whispers back, but when Liam turns to look at him, the boys green eyes are not trained on the ceiling but on him.   
He slowly leans closer. “Theo...”   
“I know Liam, I feel it too...”

  
That is all Liam needs, he closes the last distance and Theo meets him in the middle, before their lips touch for the first time. And even though the kiss is soft and careful, as if none of them could quite believe it is real, the sparks Liam’s heart sprays feel powerful enough to lighten up the whole world in this moment.   
   
And when they climb down from the tree a few hours later, lips still red, hands finding each other as soon as they both stand on the ground again, they exchange happy little smiles with each other, not even dimmed by the chance of “I told you so”s by their mothers... 


End file.
